Terms of Endearment
by MovieBuffStarlet
Summary: How the nickname 'Angelcake' came to be.


Grinning proudly, Angel carefully opened the oven. He loved the feeling of warmth on his face. The sweet scent of chocolate filled the air.

"I can smell it from here, Ang! I'm getting _hungry_ now!" The muffled voice of Collins rang out from somewhere in their apartment. Angel assumed that he was in the bedroom.

"Thanks, honey!" Angel giggled, pulling on the oven mitts. A birthday party for Maureen was going to be held at the loft in just over two hours. Angel wanted this to be perfect and he had baked Maureen's favorite: chocolate cake…soon to be smothered in chocolate icing.

Gripping onto the sides of the metal pan, Angel took the cake out. His eyes scanned the tiny, messy kitchen frantically…

The table top was crowded with junk…and so was the counter. The heat from the pan was beginning to seep through the thin, worn fabric of the oven mitts. It was burning Angel's fingers.

_Ow…ow…ow…ow…ow…_

Finally, Angel rushed over to the kitchen table while balancing the cake on one hand. He pulled a chair out and placed the cake on it, allowing it to cool.

_There! Now I just gotta get the icing…_

Humming contently, Angel pulled the oven mitts off and flung them onto the counter top. He shut the oven door and proceeded to turn off the heat.

"Hey, Angel!" Collins greeted him cheerfully as he came into the kitchen area.

"Hi, lover!" Angel chirped, reaching into the fridge to pull out a small bowl of rich, creamy chocolate icing. Angel had made it from scratch about three hours ago. He gingerly tugged the Saran Wrap off the opening of the bowl. His eyes swept the place, looking for a clean knife to stir it with.

"Maureen is gonna _love_ it!" Collins chuckled softly.

Angel was still looking for a knife, his back still turned.

"Thank you, baby! I sure hope so!" The Latino grinned.

_Squish!_

Angel froze here, a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach.

_Oh, no! Please! No…_

After a few agonizing seconds, Angel willed himself to turn around…

Collins was sitting stiffly on the chair…on the _cake_, actually. A stunned expression on his face.

"_THOMAS_!!" Angel whined, slamming the bowl of icing down on the crowded counter top.

The professor blinked, snapping out of his shock. He sprang to his feet, as if he had sat on a cactus. Having some hot cake still stuck to his ass (ouch!), he whirled around to stare at Angel's squashed creation.

"Oh, no! Angel…I'm so sorry…"

He _was_ really sorry. But still…he could feel the corners of his mouth twitch in a half smirk. He bit his lip, fighting off laughter.

Angel, however, was _not_ laughing. He folded his arms across his chest, pouting just a little.

"This is _not_ funny, Tom!"

"I know, I know…" Collins sighed, turning to look at his lover. He was sincere and he felt guiltier than ever. Slowly, he began walking over towards him.

"I'm sorry, Angelcake." Standing directly in front of Angel now, Collins reached into the bowl of icing, scooping some up with his fingers. He reached up, gently wiping a small amount onto the tip of Angel's nose.

Angel smiled softly. That was quite possibly the cutest nickname he'd _ever_ heard. He wanted to think of an adorable pet name for Collins now.

"What did you call me?" The Latino asked. He scrunched up his nose, wiping it off with the back of his hand. Collins was slightly disappointed…he wanted to kiss the icing off.

"I called you 'Angelcake'. Get it? Your name is Angel and you're covered in icing…"

Grinning brightly now, Angel was giggling. "Yes. I get it, Thomas. That is _so_ sweet!"

"So…does this mean you're not angry with me anymore?" Collins asked him hopefully, daring to press a gentle kiss to his lips.

"How can I stay mad at _you_?? Besides, it was my fault for putting the cake on a chair in the first place…" Angel giggled again. "I'm sorry, honey…"

The lovers shared a moment of silence, smiling at one another.

"Well, I've saved up some money from my drumming for this week. We've still got a good amount of time before the party begins…so I'd better run over to the nearest grocery store so I can buy Maureen a new cake…"

Ever the gentleman, Collins shook his head.

"I'm coming with you. And _I'll_ pay for it. I'm the one who sat on the cake, after all. I've just got to change my pants and we're good to go…"

Angel grinned. "You're so sweet!"

Collins smirked back at him, his eyes sparkling with mischief. He eyed the bowl of homemade icing that Angel had whipped up.

"And when we get back, why don't we have some fun with this leftover icing, _Angelcake_??"

Angel's face flushed in delight.

"I'd _love_ to, Thomas!"

THE END

_A/N: I know you probably saw that little 'Collins-sits-on-the-cake' gag coming from a mile away. But the mental image of Collins having cake stuck to his ass with a bewildered expression on his face was just too cute to pass up._

_By the way, I did not invent the nickname 'Angelcake'. Long before I started writing RENT fics, I was just a lurker on this site. Right after seeing the film, I began reading every RENT fic that consisted of Angel on here and on LiveJournal. I remember seeing the name 'Angelcake' once or twice in a few older fics (I can't remember the author) and I'm pretty sure I squealed. It is just the cutest, sweetest little nickname for the most adorable person! And now, I use it obsessively in my fics._


End file.
